Subaru Nakajima
| gender = Female | species = is a::Cyborg (member of::Type Zero) | homeworld = origin::residence::Mid-Childa | born = uncertain Officially: born::0060According to StrikerS episode 2 (ca. 8:22 in), Subaru was officially 11 years old in 0071. | died = | relatives = Nakajima family (adopted) | partner = Teana Lanster | affiliations = member of::TSAB, member of::Riot Force 6 | occupation = Forward StarS Front Attacker | rank = Private, 1st Class (StrikerS) Sergeant (Force) | magic_system = magic system::Modern Belka | magic_color = magic color::Light blue | magic_rank = B (StrikerS) magic rank::AA (post-''StrikerS'')[http://nanoha.julynet.jp/?%CB%E2%CB%A1%2FStrikerS#t86327bb Mage ranks in StrikerS] on the Japanese Nanoha wiki. | device = Mach Caliber Revolver Knuckle (right hand) Sword Breaker (Force)[http://forums.animesuki.com/showpost.php?p=3027521 Magical Chronicle Lyrical Nanoha Force NEXT, Design 02]. | name_ja = スバル・ナカジマ | name_romaji = Subaru Nakajima | first = | last = | voices = }} Subaru Nakajima (スバル・ナカジマ, Subaru Nakajima) is a character in appears in::Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS, voiced by . She's completely original to the series, not appearing in any of the previous series in the franchise. Subaru has a deep-rooted admiration of Nanoha Takamachi, aspiring to be just like her. Subaru even made her own version of Divine Buster. She is named after the car company Subaru and , the World War II-era name of , the parent company of Subaru. Subaru means in Japanese. Many aspects of her character, including her status as a cyborg, Mach Caliber transformation, and typical attack routine, appear to be a heavy nod to the 1997 anime and its sequel OVA. She and her sister also resemble the pilots of . Subaru in StrikerS Four years before the events of the series, Subaru had been caught in a fire at a Mid-Childan airport along with her older sister Ginga Nakajima. Confused and crying, just as a statue was about to crush her, she was rescued by Nanoha. Nanoha created a hole in the roof using Divine Buster to make her exit with Subaru, and the experience left Subaru with a deep admiration for and the desire to be just like Nanoha.Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS Episodes 1 and 2. At the very start of the series, Subaru participated in a test with Teana Lanster to raise their mage ranks from C to B, though she didn't know that she and Teana were being observed by Nanoha, Fate T. Harlaown and Hayate Yagami as potential students and members of a new division of the TSAB Ground Forces, Riot Force 6. Though the two were accepted into the new division, they had failed the test. But they were given a special opportunity to retake it without having to wait. Subaru's excitement at being a member of the same squad as Nanoha and being taught directly her idol may have had her jumping, but Subaru, having a completely different way of fighting from her commander, instead trains in close combat with her sub-commander, Vita. Subaru's style is unrefined, as she initially opted to use barriers in situations where shields are more appropriate.Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS Episode 6. In episode 6 of StrikerS, we learned that Subaru's family might have originated from Earth like Nanoha and Hayate. In their case, "Earth" is referred as "Non-Administrated Planet 97". Subaru's friendship with Teana, though the latter may claim that it is strained, is very close, to the point of devotion. During a time when Teana was angsting over a friendly fire incident during the Hotel Augusta engagement, Subaru made every effort to keep Teana's spirits up, helped her train and even criticised Nanoha's decisions to punish Teana for overdoing her efforts.Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS Episode 8 and 9. By episode 18, it is revealed that Subaru and Ginga are, in fact, not biological daughters of Genya Nakajima and his wife Quint (who was incapable of childbirth). The girls are actually cyborgs (as revealed in episode 17 when Subaru's left arm was damaged, revealing cybernetics), just like Jail Scaglietti's Numbers, acquired from a facility similar to that run by Scaglietti, then adopted by the Nakajimas because of their surprising resemblance to Quint.Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS Episode 17 and 18. Even more startling is a revelation during a flashback in episode 23, when, while Quint was still alive, Ginga and Subaru were undergoing examination, and it was discovered that the siblings had very uncannily similar genetic makeup to Quint, leading to speculation that they were possibly clones of Quint, which would explain their physical resemblances.Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS Episode 23. By the end of the series, Subaru has assumed the field roles once held by Nanoha, and is last seen rescuing two children from a sinking ship.Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS Episode 26. In Sound Stage X Subaru appears in appears in::Sound Stage X to help Teana with her investigation of the Mariage incident. She and Vivio Takamachi become friends with Ixpellia in the end. In ViVid Subaru makes a minor cameo appearance in the first chapter of appears in::Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha ViVid, receiving a picture of Vivio and her friends. She enters the story proper in chapter 5, when Nove, having been beaten by Heidi E. S. Ingvalt, calls her for help and also to apprehend her attacker who didn't get far before collapsing. It is then revealed that Subaru now lives separately from Genya, in her own home, where she brings both Nove and Einhart. After confirming that Einhart is not planning to hurt Vivio or Ixpellia, she accompanies her and Nove to the police station but stays behind to chat with Teana. She is last seen seeing Einhart off to school, where she is supposed to meet Vivio. She is next seen in chapter 8, reporting off duty to Voltz Stan, before she leaves on a trip to Carnaaji with Nanoha, Teana, Vivio, and her friends. In chapter 10, she, Nanoha, Teana, Fate, Caro, and Erio participate in a spectacular mock battle on Carnaaji. In the upcoming team battle on the second training day, Subaru will take a Front Attacker position of the Blue Team alongside Vivio, opposing Nove and Einhart, respectively. In Force Subaru is first seen in the prologue chapter of Force, standing on the beach with Touma Avenir, with their backs to the reader. Their association, however, is properly revealed in the end of chapter 5, when she is introduced to the main story (meeting Nanoha at a space port). Apparently, she and Touma have spent a lot of time together when he was young, as Nanoha jokingly refers to him as Subaru's "little brother". When Rein informs Subaru that Touma is among the culprits of the Eclipse crisis in chapter 6, all Subaru says is "I must confirm it myself". Chapter 7 details how Subaru and Thoma first met. Some time before their meeting, she was deployed to contain a major fire. However, despite saving many lives, the firefighters couldn't save many more, and Subaru took a leave to train alone and cope with the feeling of guilt. It was during this time that she spotted Thoma, who was wandering homeless after surviving the destruction of his hometown. Surprised by her openness and kindness, Thoma nevertheless recognized that her "smile with tears held back was just her acting tough". The two of them grew close to each other, and she requested that his hometown be investigated. She also searched for any relatives but in vain, so he was taken in by an orphanage. After he grew old enough, the Nakajima family offered to adopt him, but before he could agree, he decided to go on a journey to cope with his own past. In Force, Subaru is a member of member of::Special Duty Section 6. Powers Even though she uses Belka magics, Subaru is considered a mage instead of a knight.Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS Official Website. The reason for this has not been fully revealed in StrikerS. Subaru's form of magic-use is a hand-to-hand form called "Shooting Arts", which was taught to Subaru by her sister''Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS'' Episode 11. and is focused on shooting and magic-enhanced attacks. Barrier Jacket Subaru's Barrier Jacket is fairly similar to Nanoha's though it lacks a few elements. As a user of the Modern Belka magic system, it's referred as a Barrier Jacket rather than Knight Armor as in the Ancient Belka system. Spells Combat Cyborg mode In addition to her magic ability, Subaru has a Combat Cyborg mode, in which she taps into her full cyborg strength and enables usage of her Inherent Skill. Her eyes change to amber while in this mode, and her magic circle changes to the combat cyborg circle. Subaru's IS is , a close-range energy attack similar to Revolver Shoot but several orders of magnitude more powerful, with exceptional effectiveness against electronic parts and the cyborgs' physical frames. A cyborg will definitely be killed instantly should she/he take one hit undefended.Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS Episode 18. The first time that Subaru performed her IS, her Revolver Knuckle loaded four cartridges, though she does not do so in Episode 26. It appears that she can only perform Oscillating Breaker with a hand that is wearing a Revolver Knuckle, as she only does so with her right hand in Episode 17 but performs a one-two use of the move in Episode 26 while wearing both Knuckles. Mach Caliber was not designed to work with Subaru's Combat Cyborg form, however, and breaks apart from the strain the first time Subaru uses it. As a result, Mach Caliber was upgraded in episode 19 to improve its performance to the point where it was able to handle Subaru's full power - a similar upgrade was performed by Jail Scaglietti to Ginga's Blitz Caliber at the same time. In the StrikerS manga, Shario Finieno refers to Inherent Skill::Wing Road as another Inherent Skill while putting the finishing touches on Mach Caliber, stating that programming Mach Caliber to be able to use Wing Road on its own is complicating the Device's completion. Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS (manga) Chapter 8, page 20. Subaru has on occasion punctured barriers by punching them with a spinning Revolver Knuckle, then opening her hand into the barrier, causing it to shatter (referred to as [[Barrier Break|'Barrier Break']]). She did this in Episode 1 against the boss drone, as well as in Episode 23 to puncture Ginga's barrier. On both occasions this was done to leave the target open to a direct hit by Divine Buster. References Category:Characters